Expense Fraud Detection API
Employees don’t forge receipts anymore – they regenerate them. A modified PDF looks identical to the original. A single API call reveals whether a receipt, hotel folio, or mileage log was fabricated or edited – at the structural layer that the file cannot hide.
HTPBE? analyzes the structural layer of the PDF file – the layer that records every edit, even invisible ones. We don’t inspect mobile photos of paper receipts. For digital PDFs (hotel folios, airline itineraries, ride-share receipts, restaurant invoices), we’re the most specific tool for detecting fabrication and tampering.
The problem
T&E platforms catch policy violations. They don’t catch document fraud
Concur, Expensify, Ramp, and Brex use OCR to extract amounts and categories. They catch duplicate submissions and out-of-policy categories. They don’t check whether the PDF was edited after creation.
The average company loses 5% of annual T&E spend to expense fraud – a median of $1.9 million annually at mid-market companies. The most common method: modified PDF receipts. An employee edits a $45 restaurant receipt to $145, re-saves the file, and submits it. The content looks identical; the file structure records the edit.
Receipt generators produce entirely fabricated hotel folios, restaurant invoices, and mileage logs. A receipt comes back MODIFIED when the file itself carries evidence of editing or fabrication, whatever tool produced it; one HTPBE? cannot confirm as an untouched original goes to manual review. See the fake receipt detection guide for document-type specifics.
Common expense fraud patterns
- Restaurant receipt total inflated in a PDF editor before submission
- Hotel folio with room rate, dates, or extras modified
- Receipt generated with an online template tool for a meal that never happened
- Mileage log or per-diem claim self-produced with inflated figures
- Flight itinerary copied and dates edited to match a personal trip
What this looks like
Document fraud in 2026 – three concrete patterns
Three real fraud mechanics we catch at the structural PDF layer.
Restaurant receipt total inflated in a PDF editor before submission
Hotel folio with room rate, dates, or extras modified
Receipt generated with an online template tool for a meal that never happened
Mileage log or per-diem claim self-produced with inflated figures
Flight itinerary copied and dates edited to match a personal trip
The detection gap
KYC platforms check the document. HTPBE? checks the file.
Two different checks – both matter.
KYC & identity platforms
Plaid · Persona · Alloy · Jumio
- Is this a real bank statement template?
- Does the account number match the identity?
- Is the document format consistent with the issuing bank?
Detects fake documents. Does not detect edited real documents.
HTPBE? tamper detection API
Structural PDF integrity
- Was this specific PDF file modified after it was generated?
- Does the file carry evidence of editing after export?
- Were digital signatures valid at the time of signing?
What HTPBE? checks
What the API detects in expense receipts
Five forensic layers analyzed on every receipt – results in under 3 seconds
Fabrication evidence, whatever the tool
A folio or receipt comes back MODIFIED when the file itself carries evidence of editing or fabrication, whatever tool produced it. One HTPBE? cannot confirm as an untouched original should go to manual review.
Post-issuance edit detection
HTPBE? detects a hotel folio or restaurant receipt edited after issuance – whether it was changed in a PDF editor or rebuilt in other software.
Character overlay on the original
Changing a figure on an existing receipt leaves a structural trace. HTPBE? flags it without reading the page – it never looks at what the figures say.
Pages from different sources
HTPBE? detects folios assembled from pages of different sources – a common pattern when several sections of a document were edited.
Values overlaid on a scan
HTPBE? flags values overlaid on a scanned-style receipt – a clean signal for amount substitutions.
Dates that disagree
HTPBE? flags a modification date that differs from the declared creation date – a direct tampering signal on a hotel folio or receipt.
Share with engineering
Wire this into your intake pipeline in under a day
Two API calls – one POST to submit the PDF, one GET to retrieve the verdict. Forward this page to your engineering team; the full API reference, quotas, and copy-paste examples in cURL, JavaScript, Python, PHP, Go, and Ruby are one click away.
Pricing
Self-serve plans, no sales call
All plans include the same forensic checks. Pick the quota that matches your monthly document volume.
manualStarter
30 credits/mo
Manual spot-checks and integration testing
most commonGrowth
350 credits/mo
Active document processing pipelines
high volumePro
1,500 credits/mo
High-volume automation and API integrations
Enterprise (unlimited, on-premise available) — see full pricing
API key on signup. Free test environment on every plan. No card required.
Customer Stories
Teams that stopped document fraud
Compliance, finance, and risk teams use HTPBE? to catch manipulated PDFs before they become costly mistakes.
Caught an invoice where the total had been changed by less than a thousand dollars. Without this I would have approved it without a second look.
Sarah M.
AP Manager
United States
We had three applicants in the same week with bank statements that looked completely fine. Two of them were flagged as modified. You simply cannot see this by reading the document — it is in the file structure.
Lars V.
Risk Analyst, Online Lending
Netherlands
Salary slips were coming with altered figures. We identified two problematic files before the placement was finalised.
Priya K.
HR Operations Lead
India
Since we started checking documents this way, we stopped two applications early in the process that would have been very difficult to reverse later.
Julien R.
Fraud Analyst, Fintech
France
Some applicants were sending PDFs that looked authentic but had been edited in ways not visible to the eye. We now ask for checked originals when something is flagged. Already saved us from a few bad decisions.
Marta S.
Compliance Coordinator
Spain
One invoice was caught because there was a mismatch between the document dates and structure. That particular case would have cost us significantly.
Tariq A.
Finance Manager
United Arab Emirates
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Won’t every receipt look edited if employees forward it by email?
Can this catch AI-generated receipts?
Does this work with Concur, Expensify, Ramp, or Brex?
What about mobile-scanned receipt photos?
Secure your workflow
Create your account – check PDFs on the web or with an API key, both ready on signup.
No sales call. Cancel any time.